


Skin-changer

by LariMagicfeather



Category: The Inheritance Cycle - Christopher Paolini
Genre: Adventure, F/M, Fantasy, Storytelling
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-03
Updated: 2021-03-09
Packaged: 2021-03-16 07:34:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,352
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29821551
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LariMagicfeather/pseuds/LariMagicfeather
Summary: After the events of the Long-fic "Of Poems and Maps", Eragon and Arya depart on a journey to discover the wonders of the far east in the company of their loyal dragons, Saphira and Fírnen. When they stop to rest, Eragon remembers a curious episode of his life and decides to tell it to Arya, all about a tribe of very unusual people with strange magical powers.
Relationships: Arya Dröttningu/Eragon Shadeslayer
Kudos: 4





	1. A Stroll Through the Woods

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! I'm back with a new and short story in the same universe as my long-fic "Of Poems and Maps." It happens after those events, but if you haven't read that yet, I believe there won't be major problems to understand this story.  
> There will be three chapters, to be posted once a week.  
> I hope you enjoy this little fic, and let me know what you think.

Eragon stirred the vegetable stew by the fire as Arya arranged their tent for the night. His mind was far away, dwelling on the incredible day they had discovering the east when his ears picked up a humming coming from Arya. The corners of his lips turned upward involuntarily, as the sound she produced was as it was made by the gods. He marveled at the melody so calm and soothing. Then, for his enticement, words joined the quiet music, and he thought them to be familiar.

"Is it… my poem?"

She laughed and threw him a provoking look.

"You mean _my_ poem. You gave it to me, remember?"

"Aye. I also remember promising to read it to you one day."

Arya cleaned her hands on the sides of her pants and joined him by the fire. Then she closed her eyes to smell the aroma coming from the pot. Once again, she marveled him.

"But you never did. So I found someone else to work on it."

Her voice was soft, and he was certain she meant no harm, but the harm was done.

"Someone else? To work on the poem I wrote for you?" His voice cracked at the end, attracting her attention.

His expression must have been somewhat funny, although what he felt was pure resentment because she widened her eyes then burst into laughter. Before she could control herself, Eragon stood up and grabbed a bowl to serve her supper. He put it on her hand with more aggressiveness than necessary, but if it spilled on her he did not know, for he turned his back on her and went to the tent.

There, he removed his shirt and his boots and tucked himself under the covers turning on his side. He tried to calm himself, eliminating bad thoughts, insistent thoughts, but they would come over every two seconds. They were of Arya living a life without him, before she moved east for good, meeting new people. Forgetting about him.

Being too focused on controlling his breathing, he didn't realize that he was on the edge of his waking dreams when Arya slipped under the covers behind him. She enlaced his waist just as sleep took him away. She whispered something in his ear, but he did not recognize the words. _I must be very tired_ , he thought in a haze. And he was, riding on Saphira's back all day, watching all the new life they found in the east.

Certain that he wasn't conscious, Arya started singing the poem to him, very softly in his ear. He clenched his jaw when he heard it, the feeling of being left out emerging again. So, she stopped.

That night he dreamed of nothing.

The morning came too soon as he felt less rested than he should. He turned to find the tent empty and cold. Too cold without Arya. He got up, rolled himself in the blanket, and went outside after putting on his shirt and shoes. The fire was alive, and a pot of mint tea was boiling over it. Arya was nowhere to be seen, different than Saphira and Fírnen, who nestled up under the trees after a night of who knows what dragons do when they are alone.

_Good morning, Saphira._

_Good morning, little one. Are you all right?_

He grunted a response and dropped by the fire. It wasn't long until he heard Arya's light footsteps approaching behind him. Then she sat by his side and took the pot from the fire. She handed him a cup filled with tea.

"Thank you," he said. She responded with a gentle smile and a nod.

He drank the tea with ease, but his mind was far from calm.

"Do you wish to say something?" She asked.

"I feel like I should apologize for something, but I don't want to."

They stared at each other for a while.

"Ismira," she whispered finally.

"What?"

"Ismira. I sent her a copy of your poem and when I visited her in Ceunon a few years ago she had made it into music. I believe there is a translation to the common tongue as well. She claims translating poems and stories makes her learn the Ancient Language."

Eragon felt like a fool. Being jealous of his own niece was so foolish he felt his cheeks warm. Taking the cup to his lips, he wished to drown.

" _Now_ I feel like apologizing. I am sorry for the way I behaved last night, Arya. I was a fool."

She smiled at him and drank her tea.

"You _are_ a fool," she laughed softly. "But I must apologize as well for laughing at you. That was what I tried to do last night in the tent, but you were already asleep. I behaved badly too. I'm sorry."

"Still. I don't have the right to feel that way. Who am I to think I can control you?"

Arya placed a hand on his shoulder and slid it to his neck, where she raised a thumb and caressed his bearded cheek.

"You have all the right to feel whichever feeling there is to feel. What you do with those feelings, that's what makes the difference in a relationship. Remember that."

Eragon leaned closer to her hand and closed his eyes to enjoy the sensation of her touch. He then nodded and she understood they were all right.

The area they chose to set camp was a beautiful plain, with wild vegetation. Saphira and Fírnen reported what they saw while scouting the place. It was a small forest that ended on the foot of some mountains, apparently. It seemed to be different than anything they had seen before, so Eragon and Arya decided to explore the woods on foot, taking notes of everything they discovered along the way. The dragons took the opportunity to fly ahead and maybe enjoy the good weather in the mountains.

As they trod through the forest, they kept silent, except when marveled by a new species of flower or an animal they still didn't know. It was midday when they stopped to eat under a big tree they also didn't recognize close to a pond of clear water.

"I wonder if those berries we found earlier are edible." Arya pondered, chewing a piece of bread with cheese.

"There are loads of it everywhere. I bet that it's not, otherwise the animals would've eaten them all, but we can cast a spell to check."

"You don't want to waste your energy like that. If it's something poisonous, it might strain you too much."

"We'll collect them to take it to Mount Arngor on the way back then. What do you say?"

Arya agreed, and Eragon was happy with their plan, even if he didn't know when they would return home.

Feeling lazy after lunch, Eragon leaned his head back on the tree trunk to rest a few minutes before they resumed their hike. It was with delight that he felt Arya lying down on his lap. He opened his eyes to find her looking up to the sky, barely visible between the branches. It was the perfect opportunity for him to run his fingers through her hair. She moaned with delight.

"Have I ever told you about the time I ran into a tribe of humans of the east?"

Arya creased her forehead trying to remember the story.

"I believe you did, although I do not recall the details."

"I think you would remember if I had told you the details."

"Why haven't you told me then, if it's so memorable?"

He laughed. Why hadn't he? It was a really good story after all.

"Would you like to hear it now?"

"Is it an unpublished story by the Shadeslayer? If it is, I would like to hear it very much."

She was making fun of him, which did not make him feel bad like the night before, on the contrary. He laughed again.

"Would you like to hear it or not?

"Yes! Tell me!"

Arya rolled to her side so she could look at him as he spoke. And there he was, telling someone, for the first time, the story of how he met and helped a tribe of skin-changers.


	2. First Encounter

My bow was prepared to shoot the arrow. My hunter's eyes were focused on the big animal several feet away from where I stood.

" _Do it!"_ Saphira exclaimed making me startle and almost lose grip of the bow.

" _Shush, Saphira! You're going to make me miss."_

" _I just don't understand why it's taking you so long to shoot,"_ she replied in that arrogant way that only she knows how.

I took a deep breath and relaxed my bow arm, lowering the weapon. I walked away from the deer as Saphira watched from the sky where she hovered high.

" _I think I don't want to kill it. My hunter days are officially over,"_ I said.

" _But it's my lunch! You said you would get it for me."_

" _I know. I'm sorry_." I sat by the Edda, giving up the hunt.

It was the last day of winter. The first one since we had moved east. The day trip I took with Saphira was supposed to make me feel merry for my birthday, but somehow it was making me feel less like myself than working hard in the mountain. It was Blödhgarm's idea, however, and I didn't want to disappoint him.

Saphira didn't say anything else. She simply dropped from the sky with an impressive speed just to catch her prey as it tried to run away.

" _Too slow!"_ She said to me and dug her claws in the ground as she shook her head to break the animal's spine before devouring it in a few bites.

" _And you are too fast with your chewing."_ I teased. " _It will make you feel sick all day."_

She threw me an uninterested look and came to sit by my side.

I breathed in the cold air, feeling my lungs expanding. It was quite refreshing to finally leave the confinement of Mount Arngor during the winter. You know how bad it can be, with the residents all locked inside the mountain. We weren't that many back then, but still, it could be suffocating sometimes. It was supposed to be good that for one day I could relax and simply do nothing. Yet, I felt uneasy.

"I feel like I should be doing something."

Saphira curled up in a ball on the ground and closed her lids.

" _You are doing something. You're stressing yourself for nothing. And bothering me about it."_

_Arya showed a little smile at his impression of Saphira and commented, "Your attempt to impersonate her is severely poor."_

_Eragon shrugged and kept with his narrative._

Maybe Saphira was right. I worried too much to the point of not having joy out of the things I used to love, such as hunting and flying.

I stretched my body on the grass as I lay down to watch the sky, feeling Saphira already entering her slumber. I breathed deeply and let the air calm me down.

Acceptance. That was exactly what I needed. To accept oneself is a hard task, harder than accepting others, don't you think, my queen? I considered that I should accept my decisions, make peace with them because they were taken for the greater good. I should accept the emotions such decisions cost, such as the longing it caused to be away from my loved ones. From you, especially.

Self-doubt was also a big problem those days for me. It seemed to me that the harder I worked, the less probable was the first dragon egg hatching. I wondered if the environment in the east wasn't appropriate for dragons. After all, I had never heard about dragons flying so distant from Alagaësia. I questioned the Eldunarí, but they didn't have all the answers I needed. Or didn't feel like providing it to me.

Feeling more relaxed but eager to do something, anything, I stood up and decided to take a walk around. Saphira didn't follow, resting after her big lunch.

It had been only a year since my departure from Alagaësia, so the area surrounding the home for the new Order of the Dragon Riders was still a mystery to me. It was a pleasant activity to scout the region on dragon back, watching it all from above. When Saphira and I had some time for ourselves, we would fly around Mount Arngor, pointing at the perfect locations for different activities: farming, cattle raising, mining. There was even a little hill by the Edda, south of the mountain when the river made its first turn, that had a good spot for a garden. Right there, at the foot of the hill, I hoped to build a garden someday. It could take years, but it was a good idea, I knew it. It turned out to be one of the best decisions of my life for I built you the place you call home now.

I walked among the pale trees that forced themselves to stay alive after the winter. Droplets of cold water fell from them, as my steps carried me into the woods. I was hours away from the mountain, exploring the unknown. It should be a thrilling experience, so I prepared to be thrilled. However, so far, I hadn't seen anything special. The same trees we had in Arngor, the same squirrels and birds. I knew people were living in the east, but I hadn't had any contact with them yet, and it seemed it wouldn't be that day. That quiet, tranquil day. The day I celebrated my birth.

I was wrong.

Distracted by the droplets falling from the trees as I walked, I didn't realize I was being watched. It was only when I let my mind unfocus from that image and open to the world around me that I noticed a presence. It made me startle, my feet firm on the ground and my hand on the hilt of Brisingr.

Careful not to expose my consciousness to a possible threat, I swept the space with my eyes at the same time my mind searched for the presence I had felt. I perceived the ants and other bugs crawling on the trees. I felt the energy emanating from all the animals around me, including that bigger and smarter creature standing several feet away from me. Human, I thought, but so different. No, not standing, but crouching on a branch higher than me. I walked forward, cautious. My mind brushed against the creature's mind as I approached it. It didn't react, which made me think that it had no knowledge of mind communication.

My left hand unsheathed Brisingr just a little, showing an inch of blade. My other hand was ready to reach it and use it to defend myself.

Shouldn't I call for Saphira? I was certain that I should, but at that moment, with my heart racing, I felt alive. I wished to experience danger once more. And don't look at me like that, Arya. You know me, I'm naturally curious, what can I do? So, I kept going, leaving Saphira behind.

That was when the creature dropped, and I saw the shiniest pair of black eyes staring back at me. Human, undoubtedly human. However, before I could recognize it as human, I thought I saw the same pair of eyes on the face of a feline as it dropped from the tree. I shook my head to get my vision straight. That couldn't be. So, I focused on that person in front of me.

The person, I still didn't know if it was a man or a woman, a youngling or elder – for their features were hidden behind a cascade of black hair –, walked forward slowly, with their right hand raised. I stiffed, not knowing what to do. They didn't seem threatening, but that figure was so exotic I couldn't relax. Even then, I let them touch me.

Yes, I know. It was reckless, but I don't know what came over me. Anyway, it's in the past now, so don't worry, all right?

Those delicate and small fingers reached for my ear and traced it, fascinated with the pointy shape. With their left hand, the person reached their own ear to compare the two. In a language I didn't recognize, they said something, and the voice could only be feminine.

After that, her fingers grabbed the collar of my winter coat made of heavy wool then her own coat. I noticed she was comparing the two of us, the shape of our features, the material of our clothes. Her eyes flicked to the sword I was still holding with too much force. For the first time, I saw fear in her expression, now less hidden by her hair. She took three steps back and grabbed something inside her coat that I imagined being a knife. So, she knew what a sword was and to be watchful of me.

The distance between us gave me the perfect opportunity to study her. Besides the shiny black eyes, the woman had hair as dark as that night, that fell straight around her face and on her back until her waist. Her skin had a pale tone to it and the lines of her face were angular but not like an elf. Broader somehow, I don't know. She seemed delicate and wild at the same time.

I still didn't know whether to be afraid of her or not, so I looked inside her mind again. Awhile I looked, the girl flinched a little, then she smiled.

" _You know I'm inside your mind, don't you?"_ I said internally.

The girl raised her shoulders, signaling she didn't know my language. I spoke in the Ancient Language this time. No response. Then I thought of something that I hoped it would work without draining my energy too much.

I used my creativity to cast a spell that would allow her to understand my words even if she didn't speak my language. As soon as I greeted her in my native tongue, her eyes widened.

"Do you understand me?" I asked.

She replied in her tongue, and I understood, "yes."

I introduced myself and explained what my business in the east was. Her eyes widened again. "Dragons? We haven't seen them in centuries."

_Arya was so absorbed in his story that she raised her body to a sitting position and her eyes never left his. Eragon was excited too, as he would not stop gesticulating._

" _She knew about dragons?"_

" _Aye. But I'll get there, let me keep telling the story."_

_Arya crossed her legs and sat there watching him closely. Eragon cleared his throat and continued._

I wanted to know more, so I asked her how she knew about dragons and why they went east. She didn't answer me, instead, she motioned me to follow her, and I did.

" _Eragon!"_

" _What?"_

_Arya shook her head in exasperation._

" _I can't believe you were so reckless, following a strange person into the woods."_

_In hindsight, it does seem dangerous, so his ears started to burn, and he looked away from her green eyes._

" _I was curious."_

" _As always. Now keep going."_

All right, so I followed her through a narrow trail, something like this one we're on right now. If you think I was reckless, what will you say about her, who took a stranger with a sword right to the middle of her village? Maybe she was the Eragon of her people.

_Arya shook her head again but hardly suppressed a quiet laugh._

It was quite a normal village, with children running around, people doing their chores. But the oddest thing happened there. Among the people, there were animals, not dogs and cats, cows or horses. No, there were bears, falcons, and other wild animals. Some of them carried stuff, as they were helping to do the chores. Arya, it was a village of animals who acted like humans!


End file.
